Student Success Initiatives Driving UH System Budget for FY2015

The University of Houston System Board of Regents approved a budget that will provide students with resources and support to help them succeed in their higher education endeavors. During its recent meeting, Regents unanimously voted in favor of a $1.6 billion budget for the UH System for fiscal year (FY) 2015.

The budget – which goes into effect Sept. 1 – remains consistent with that of FY2014. Construction and capital improvement projects often comprise a significant portion of each year’s budget. With many major projects either finished or in progress, the UH System’s budget is not increasing.

“While student success is always the number one priority, UHS universities have been on an aggressive capital construction schedule for the past few years. As a result, UHS campuses have wonderful new dining and residential facilities and academic buildings,” said UHS Board of Regents chairman Jarvis V. Hollingsworth. “Our universities are better as a result of these projects. We’re spending less on capital construction this year, and it’s good to see our budget not increase for this reason. This plan for FY2015 will keep the system financially sound.”

Although construction spending is decreasing, the System continues to grow in many areas. For FY2015, the UH System will allocate $1.4 billion to its operating costs – much of which is aimed at facilitating student success at each of the system campuses. New academic programs, facilities, added academic support positions and student resources are just some of areas that the system’s budget will support during the upcoming fiscal year.

The UH System consists of four universities: the University of Houston (UH), UH-Clear Lake (UHCL), UH-Downtown (UHD) and UH-Victoria (UHV). It also includes three branch campuses: UHCL Pearland, UHS-Northwest and UH Sugar Land. Additionally, the system has one multi-institutional teaching center, UHS Cinco Ranch.

A breakdown of the FY2015 budget is as follows:

UH – 1.2 billion: UH’s FY2015 budget provides an additional $4 million to student success initiatives (for a total of $672 million) that include financial aid, stipends, fellowships, campus life enhancements (expansion of campus recreation, health and spiritual centers) and the expansion of off-campus academic programs (including new programs delivered at UH Sugar Land, the delivery of Executive Master of Business Administration curriculum in The Woodlands, Texas, and development of a Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management teaching center in San Antonio). The University also will devote $8.2 million to enhance its status as a nationally competitive institution. UH will apply these funds toward the recruitment and retention of quality faculty, research and infrastructure projects and continued initiatives in health, energy and the arts. The University’s budget also includes an additional $5.3 million to support its infrastructure and administrative costs including maintenance projects, construction, expanded parking and expanded campus security.

UHCL - $117 million: The bulk of UHCL’s budget will be applied to student access and success initiatives. UHCL will devote an additional $5 million (for a total of $86 million) toward student financial assistance, academic support, instructional support, downward expansion initiatives and faculty recruitment and retention. These funds will support UHCL as it opens a new office dedicated to the needs of veterans and a new advising office. UHCL also will dedicate $4 million toward operational costs and campus facilities.

UHD -$177 million: UHD will invest an additional $3.4 million toward student access and success initiatives (for a total of $127 million). These include scholarships, enrollment services, student recruiting efforts, academic advising, mentoring and tutoring programs, and faculty recruitment and retention efforts. These funds also will support upgrades to labs and classroom equipment.

UHV - $71.2 million: As UHV continues to evolve as a destination campus, it will apply an additional $1.5 million (for a total of $52 million) toward the hiring of new faculty in key areas and to support its increased enrollment. These funds also benefit recruitment, retention and graduation initiatives. Likewise, they will assist UHV as it hires instructional faculty, develops new course offerings and enhances its student advising efforts.